BCCI vs Lodha panel: Tough lessons for Indian sports

Indian cricket is on a high, with the team snatching the ICC World No 1 ranking from Pakistan last week.

The current series against New Zealand makes the visitors look pedestrian and the combination of Virat Kohli as captain and Anil Kumble as coach has settled down well.

With a long Test series at home, you could be sure, there is a good chance for some old players to be brought out of cold storage and again be part of the side.

Even with the ODI selection for the series against New Zealand, it has been similar with Suresh Raina again getting a look-in.

If all this looks good, the same cannot be said about the men who govern Indian cricket.

The picture is in sharp contrast where the current office bearers in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the state associations are unsure of what will be their fate.

The proceedings in the Supreme Court are being watched with immense interest and with the passing of each day; it is getting hotter under the collar for the BCCI mandarins.

October 17 promises to be more eventful as recalcitrant officials are refusing to accept the Justice RM Lodha panel suggestions.

The tremors within the BCCI are already being felt by other sports bodies as well in India.

In the absence of a national sports law or code, federations which have had a free run till now are concerned about what lies in store for them.

The common thread between BCCI and other national sports federations is politicians are present in both.

If the BCCI is forced to accept the Lodha panel recommendations, then the term of office bearers will be three years. After that, they need to take a cooling period of three years before returning to power.

Some of the national sports federations are already talking among themselves that it would be good to press for a national sports bill code.

The last time a draft of the sports bill was moved in Parliament (2011) by the then sports minister Ajay Maken, it was shot down immediately.

Politicians from different political parties had a consensus the sports bill was not to their liking.

To be sure, there is nothing wrong in having a national sports bill which can be enacted by the Parliament. It will have clarity and ensure the sports bodies become accountable.

At the same time, one can see more vibrant office bearers in power who are ready to follow principles of good governance.

It's a strange situation. Most national sports federations recognised by the sports ministry know their survival depends on funds being released from the Indian government.

We have seen at the Rio Olympics, how athletes claimed huge funds under the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) and the utilisation was not the best.

The shooting body (NRAI), which gets heavy funding from the government, made a performance report public last week.

It raised a valid point on how some shooters do not use precious funds in the best manner and that money can actually be pocketed!

At a time when the NDA government is supporting Indian sport in a big way, it would be in the best interest that national sports federations agree to a sports code.

The BCCI has resisted coming under the RTI Act (Right to Information) and stalling someone from the CAG (comptroller and auditor general) who can look into the accounts.

Sports federations are in a quiet huddle as they know coming under a national act will be good for them.

They can have an eight year stint in power to be followed by a four year cooling period.

One office bearer of a top national sports federation admitted this was a better option rather than having just a three-year term as envisaged for the BCCI office bearers.

One is aware of what happened post the 2012 London Olympics when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Indian Olympic Association.

Finally, the IOC forced the IOA to amend its constitution and hold elections after which IOA was back in international fold.

There are still old fogeys around in some sports federations and crying wolf that the IOC will not tolerate government interference is bunkum.

National sports federations in India need a proper code. If not, one day they could meet the same fate as the BCCI.

Times have changed. Today, the IOC, with Thomas Bach as president, realises how important it is for an Olympic host city to get full backing from the government.

If not, running the Games from the financial perspective will be impossible. Even for hosting an Asian Games, there are very few takers.

Back to the BCCI, it is staring at the writing on the wall. Sports federations in India surely do not want to meet the same fate as the rich and arrogant body which was just too rigid in its approach.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)

Also read - Why is BCCI defying Lodha panel?