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The sigh of relief heard round the cricket
world, including in India--at the fall of Jagmohan
Dalmiya could well have had the force to create
another tsunami.
Dalmiya has many achievements to his credit. But much
of the goodwill these created has been steadily eroded
by his machinations and refusal to give up the reins
of power in the BCCI.
This hunger for office and wheeling-dealing methods
saw him cling on to power in a most unseemly manner
this year behind the proxy shadow of that puppet,
Ranbir Singh Mahindra.
Now for the loser to whine about politicians entering
the board (and after all, Mahindra is a small-time
Haryana politician too) is a bit rich. Dalmiya had the
ability to teach even the most hardened of politicians
a thing or two about hanging on in the corridors of
powers.
In that sense the Congress party backing Sharad Pawar
all the way and ganging up on Dalmiya was nothing but
a taste of his own medicine. Poetic justice; hoist by
his own petard, call it what you will. But the
distinct impression among cricket followers is that
Dalmiya had begun to consider the Board as his
personal fiefdom. The refusal to quit gracefully has
now seen him with egg on his face.
Dalmiya will now have to slink back to his lair at the
Cricket Association of Bengal, where last year he had
himself anointed 'President for Life' if you
please!, lick his wounds and plot the downfall of his
opponents.
For make no mistake, drunk on power he will
not rest till he manages to sneak his way back into
the Board through hook or by crook.
Let us not forget however that in the early 1990s he
teamed up with the formidable Inder Singh Bindra to
change the face of first Indian and then world
cricket.
That they parted ways after Dalmiya ditched his old
friend and grabbed the office of the President of the
International Cricket Council in 1996 meant that for
the last ten years their blood feud brought only
detriment to Indian cricket.
While it is true that Dalmiya brought untold wealth
into Indian and world cricket, he also created enemies
around the world with his acerbic and undiplomatic
ways.
Also, the huge sums of money only really filtered into
the pockets of the top cricketers. Below the cream of
the crop, Indian cricket remains in a shambles. The
fact that the BCCI has reportedly stashed away Rs. 300
crores in fixed deposits begs the question - for whose
benefit?
The Pawar group has promised to open these funds and
spend them on infrastructure which is indeed a crying
need.
To watch an international match in India, apart from
Bindra's own backyard in Mohali, is an ordeal that
only the most hardened of fans are willing to endure
time and again. Everything from seating, toilets,
water and food are considered luxuries that only the
VIPs are given access to.
It is this group of cricket lovers which will be
eternally grateful if Pawar and friends can bring
about the winds of change in Indian cricket. More
power to them.
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