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Three months after announcing a plethora of measures to clean up the
game, the BCCI's ambitious plan is yet to take off and is unlikely to
make any progress till the board's AGM at the end of September. While
the BCCI has not offered any explanation for the delay in implementation
of the plan announced in the wake of the IPL corruption scandal, it is
understood to be a victim of the current leadership crisis in the board.
The decisions were announced in two phases. On May 19, four days after
three Rajasthan Royals players were arrested on charges of spot-fixing
in the IPL, BCCI president N Srinivasan announced the board's decision
to get players' agents accredited. That was followed, on June 10, by Jagmohan Dalmiya, the board's acting president, unveiling what he called 'operation clean-up',
which aimed to curb corruption and remove "sleaze" in the IPL by
enforcing a "strict code of conduct". It included a requirement for
players to reveal sources of their earnings, and for IPL team owners to
furnish details of payments and their contractual obligations with
players and support staff.
So far, though, those decisions and proposals have remained on paper.
The BCCI, which trumpeted those announcements under the spotlight, has
been quiet about them ever since and is still short on specifics. "We
are still in the process to act upon the decisions. Hopefully, it will
be done soon," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told ESPNcricinfo earlier
this week.
Dalmiya said the issues were being discussed. "All the procedures about
implementation of operation clean-up and player agents accreditation are
being discussed. We will let you know once there is an update," he
said.
Neither gave reasons for the delay, and it is understood that nothing
will be done before the September AGM. This is mainly because there is
no clear leadership in the board. Though Dalmiya is handling the board's
day-to-day affairs, many senior officials feel the board lacks a leader
who has the clout to actually implement such a high-profile operation.
There is also a feeling within the board that there is no urgency
required since most of these proposed changes are related to the IPL.
Meanwhile, those affected by the proposals are yet to hear from the
board, directly or indirectly. They feel the sooner it is done the
better it will be in terms of bringing in transparency into their
business.
The board never spelt out its modus operandi but it believed that the
centrally contracted players will be asked to give details of their
representatives, who will then be asked to submit their relevant
documents. The move, when first announced, had evoked a mixed response
from player agents, a group that, barring an exception or two, has few
friends among cricket administrators. One of the leading player agents
hoped that the BCCI's announcement on May 19 "wasn't a farce" and they
would formalise the procedure "before the cricket season begins at
home".
The need for bringing player agents on board was underlined during the
spot-fixing scandal that saw many of players' agent-cum-friends hanging
around in the team hotel. Jiju Janardhanan, an alleged bookie who was a friend of Sreesanth, may have posed as the fast bowler's agent.
The decision to ask players to reveal their financial interests had been
announced following revelations of India and Chennai Super Kings
captain MS Dhoni's involvement with Rhiti Sports Management, a company that also manages some of the other prominent Indian cricketers.
Since the BCCI does not recognise any player agent as of now, all the
demands will be made directly to the players. A BCCI contracted player
confirmed that he had not received any notification seeking either his
manager's details or those about his financial transactions. The player
added the delay will "unnecessarily keep a sword hanging over players'
financial status and genuine player agents".
Amol Karhadkar is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
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© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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