By IANS
Melbourne : The Indian cricket board is all for “equity, justice and fair play” and does not want money to rule the roost, former board president I.S. Bindra has said.
Bindra, who was in Australia as a guest of Cricket Australia (CA), was referring to the general belief that the cash-rich Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wants to dominate the cricket world with its money power.
“There is that perception and those people have the right to that perception. But I believe and try to emphasise on others that Indian cricket does not want to be what America is to the rest of the world,” Bindra told The Australian newspaper.
“What we want is on the basis of every country being equal. We want equity, justice and fair play. We don’t want money to be the main factor propelling the game of cricket. Of course, money is important; it is important everywhere. But it shouldn’t be important to the extent of dictating decision-making,” said the current president of the Punjab Cricket Association.
Bindra has been a powerful and persuasive figure in the administration of the Indian cricket since 1975. He was the BCCI president from 1993-94 to 1995-96.
BCCI’s money power and influence in the game has been discussed in recent times, especially after Harbhajan Singh’s three-Test ban for his alleged racial remarks against Australia’s Andrew Symonds was watered down to a penalty of 50 percent match fees. The issue seemed to have ruffled the BCCI-CA relationship.
“That significant concessions were made to India as argument raged about Harbhajan’s conduct in the second Test in Sydney has been widely interpreted as illustrative of India’s power at the international table,” said the paper.
“India is now responsible for at least 70 percent of the game’s revenue and the BCCI is increasingly unapologetic about flexing its muscle on the world stage. As a country and as a cricket community, it has vivid memories of being dictated to by an imperial power.”
The paper said that there was a perception that the game introduced by the British is now, for all practical purposes, governed by India and Australia.
“I hope that perception is not correct and I like to believe it’s not correct. If we are feeling bad about something, we should not repeat the same thing. It’s no remedy for what has happened in the past to repeat the past. We have to learn from history,” Bindra said.
Bindra has an understanding of the game’s complex international politics and admits there are some within BCCI who have given the impression in public forums that India wants to use its commercial power to dictate terms universally, wrote the paper.
“Yes, there are people on the board who think in this way. But I am their critic, the first one to criticise them. I believe even the smallest country should have an equal say in the matter,” said Bindra.