Now, that the BCCI has told us that it is a private company which has nothing to do with the Government of India, here are a few posers: Will BCCI drop the I (India) from its name immediately, and stop misleading us?: Will it ask its team-members not to claim that they are representing India?; Will it ask the radio/TV commentators not to refer to its team as Team India?; Going by the BCCIs argument, any company, like Tata, Reliance, Infosys or Wipro can register and hire players to represent it in the name of India and play matches against teams formed by similar companies in the test-playing nations. And, if they offer more money they can get players like Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly to play for their teams (who are now playing for a private company called BCCI). They can also start a parallel BCCI or ICC; Professional football clubs are run by private individuals/registered companies/bodies. They do not claim to represent any country. That is why they are not averse to hiring foreign players. So, why does not the BCCI hire foreign players to represent it? It is after all a private club, which does not represent the country.
Cricket is Indias national game. Cricket arouses passions. Cricket unites the nation. Yet, India does not have a national cricket team. Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid play for the official team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and not the official team in India. This team full of FMCG models is anything but public property. The players are employees of a private society registered as an association under Tamil Nadus Society Registration Act of 1860. This association, is affiliated to a company registered in British Virgin Islands called the International Cricket Council (ICC). Pray, how many people will turn up to watch a match between the BCCI XI and, say, the Marylebone Cricket Club, held at the the Lord's cricket ground? Is the team we support India or is it BCCI? Generations have been misled by BCCI into believing that Indians own Indian cricket. The truth is that India does not own Indian cricket. If the BCCI is a private body and its financial statements cannot be scrutinised even by cricket fans, then why do players use the name India on their shirts or even be eligible for various income tax and entertainment tax?
It looks like either S Umesh is having no work or he is out of his mind. Doesn't he knows the state of other sports organization ran by Government officials. Government should hike the charges for filing such petitions so that it is not misused.
If the board of the BCCI thinks that the (so called) Indian Team is a private club and not an national team then let them be just that. Whatever recognition, awards and privileges they have got on account of being a "Indian Team" should be immideately stripped and every single pasise they have got or gained on the same account immideately refunded back to the Indian Government. I do not think the Indian tax payers should pay for the sake of some private club under any circumstance.
