'The Board Is Probing The E-mail Leak'

The full transcript of the BBC Hindi special programme Aapki Baat BBCKe Saath with BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) President RanbirSingh Mahendra.

Nagendar Sharma: In which direction is Indian Cricket headed, giventhe turmoil it is facing, especially considering what the world has seen duringthe recent weeks ?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : I admit that Indian Cricket is at a criticaljuncture, and presently many people are viewing Indian Cricket with suspicion,due to these recent developments, but we all know that Cricket is a game of upsand downs. Indian Cricket Board is fully competent to overcome these, and theglorious days would be back again soon.

BBC listener from Agra: We have legendary names in Indian Cricket --Bishen Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev to name a few. Despite such peoplebeing available, we still prefer foreign coaches. What was that John Wright gaveto Indian Cricket in his long stint as coach of the team that former Indiangreats could not have given? And what has Greg Chappell given to Indian Cricketexcept tension and division in the team so far?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : In today’s world, we should not keep thisstrict compartmentalisation of Indian and foreign. We should judge an individualby his work. Earlier, the coach of the team was John Wright and he did a goodjob. I think nobody would dispute that. After Wright's tenure came to an end, wedecided to appoint the new coach through a process of interviews. The committeeto appoint the coach had three former Indian Cricketers – Sunil Gavaskar, RaviShastri and Venkatraghavan. Mohinder Amarnath was one of the candidates who wasconsidered for the job, and the decision was made on the basis of presentationsby all the candidates, and that is how Greg Chappell was appointed. 

Now you are saying that Greg has given only tension to the team. I think thatan opinion should not be formed about an individual in haste. We would be doinggrave injustice to him by passing such a judgement so soon. We would have togive reasonable time to Greg and then I think such an opinion would not remain.At times, when the team performance is not up to the mark, and it is passingthrough a critical phase, such thoughts do come to mind. But my view is thatjumping to conclusions so soon about the coach would not be fair.

BBC listener from Allahabad : There is no doubt that Sourav has been asuccessful captain for the team, but his present form and his habitually beingregularly embroiled in controversies are a dangerous sign for the country’scricketing future. Why has the Board turned a blind eye to it?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : What you are saying could also be the feelingof many other Cricket fans in the country, but let us all not forget thatrecently Sourav Ganguly has scored a test hundred in Zimbabwe. Sourav also mightbe seriously thinking about his form. So to say that we are not concerned orbothered is not right, we very much are. 

You should give some time to the selection committee and the players,particularly Sourav himself. If in the coming days, the performance does notimprove, the selection committee would, keeping in mind the feelings of croresof Cricket fans, take an appropriate decision.

BBC listener from Delhi : Cricket is so popular in the country thatdespite not being the national game of the country, it has a crazed and crazyfollowing. BCCI is perhaps the richest Board in the world, but is a puppet ofJagmohan Dalmiya, and the state of affairs is that Sourav Ganguly who does notdeserve to be in the team, given his dismal performance, is still the captain.This is because the Board does not have time due to politicking. You areyourself a politician, then why are you heading the BCCI ?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : So far as your question about Jagmohan Dalmiya’shold over the Board is concerned, let me tell you that the Board in India iscomposed of five different zones, and there are thirty members from these zones,who after consultation in their respective regions, come for the election of theBoard at the national level.

Whether Sourav Ganguly should be the captain or not, it is for the selectioncommittee to decide. The Board does not interfere in the matters of theselection committee, nor do we intend to do on this issue. However, I agree thatSourav Ganguly is not in a good form these days, but it cannot also be ignoredthat he did score a century in the first test against Zimbabwe recently. Beingthe BCCI President I hope and wish that, keeping in mind the hopes of crores ofCricket lovers from the team, his return to form would happen soon and he wouldfulfill the expectations - but the final decision about his future would be ofthe selection committee.

So far as your question about my political affiliations is concerned, yes Iam an MLA presently, but remember I have been elected to Haryana assembly forthe first time just six months back, and I have been associated with Cricket fordecades. I am against politicisation of the Board and also against thoseindividuals who enter the Board just for some gains and publicity. If someonehas been associated with the game for a long time, there is no harm if he ispolitical as well, as long as he is not in the Board merely for the sake of ahigh profile.

Nagendar Sharma: What are your priorities as BCCI President?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra: My first priority is to shift the Board ofControl for Cricket in India's (BCCI) headquarters from Mumbai to Delhi, sincethe latter is our capital. The proposal for this regard is already with theBoard and is being seriously discussed. Second is to appoint a CEO for theBoard, this is to done to bring in professionalism in the Board's functioning.Another important priority is to direct the focus of the Board and all effortstowards the Indian team’s preparation for 2007 World Cup. I consider thiscrucial for the future of the game in the country.

Nagendar Sharma: But Mr Mahendra, the 2007 World Cup is not far. Otherteams have set their sights on that event. England stunned the world by beatingworld champions Australia in the Ashes, and both the teams are talking about theWorld Cup and Indian Board officials are busy fighting each other in courts,what about 2007 World Cup?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : Well, so far as the World Cup of 2007 isconcerned, we are very clear. When Greg Chappell was appointed the coach, wetold him that our aim is 2007 World Cup. We are also taking into account thefact that during last eighteen months, our team has done well in reaching thefinals of One-day tournaments, but we have faltered in the finals. Thar is whatthe Board is now focussed on. The upcoming Challenger Trophy beginning in Mohalion 10th October would see all main Indian players participating in it, includingSachin.

Nagendar Sharma: But Mr Mahendra you have yourself admitted just nowthat Sourav is not in a good form, Sachin’s fitness is a big worry, AnilKumble is ageing, where is the attention towards building a team for 2007? Isn'tsomething lacking there?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : There is no lack of attention towards teambuilding for 2007 World Cup. The selection committee has been asked to giveprimary attention towards this, and I think we should leave it to the selectors.I would not like to comment publicly on the selection issue and would appeal tothe countrymen to repose faith in our selectors and show a bit of patience. Ican say with confidence that when the selection committee meets to select theteams for upcoming series against Sri Lanka and South Africa, the main focuswould be on this aspect. However, I must say that we need to give pace to ourefforts in preparing for 2007 World Cup.

BBC listener from Oman : You have twice mentioned Sourav’s hundredagainst Zimbabwe. This was his first hundred in three years, so should we thinkthat on the basis of this hundred he would play the next ten series?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : It is not a question of whether we would allowhim to play for ten innings on the basis of a single century, but after hishundred in Zimbabwe, Sourav has just played one innings, and before he goes outto play next time, the selection committee is going to review his performanceand decide on what they think would be right. I do not want to comment on theissue before the selection committee meeting.

Nagendar Sharma: Mr Mahendra, why does the BCCI have a zonal criterionfor the selection committee? Why doesn’t the Board have well known formercricketers as selectors, rather than having it on the zonal basis?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : Well, this matter has come up for internaldiscussions many times in the Board. For a long time, the thinking in the Boardhas been that having selectors from all zones in the country helps in search oftalent from all parts of the country. However, this thinking seems to bechanging now, and there have been suggestions that instead of the zonalselection committee, we should go in for other methods, like choosing selectorsat the national level. Personally I favour that we should change the zonalselectors system, but I cannot say today that this is certain, and maybe in thecoming days, the Board has a proper discussion on this issue. But, certainly, achange in thinking is taking place.

BBC listener from Mathura : Indian Cricket Board is perhaps therichest in the world, but pays no attention to domestic Cricket. The plight ofdomestic cricketers is bad. Why is the domestic Cricket being badly ignored?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : On the contrary, I think it has been due tothe efforts of the Board towards domestic Cricket that the game is alive andkicking in the country. Our Board is perhaps the only one in the world whichspends 26% of its income on domestic Cricket. To strengthen domestic Cricket inthe country, the Board has set-up a National Cricket Academy in Bangalore andthe results would be visible in the near future. The Board is paying allpossible attention towards the domestic Cricket, whether it is Under-19, India Aand B teams. Therefore it is not correct to say that we believe in merepromises, which are not fulfilled.

BBC listener from Pakistan : Recently UN General Secretary Kofi Annan’ssports envoy has said that Indo-Pak Cricket has helped a great deal in defusingtension in the region. When the Indian team visits Pakistan in January, youwould be meeting Shahrayar Khan. Would you take the Cricket ties further, andwould the Indian team have overcome Greg-Sourav controversy by then?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : My friend, I keep on talking to Mr ShahrayarKhan on a regular basis. You are absolutely right that Indo-Pak Cricket is amilestone in normalisation of relations between the two countries. When the twoteams play, it is a unique example of fierce competitiveness and harmony at thesame time. Why, it is not just when I visit Pakistan, but let me tell you that Iwould be meeting Mr Khan in the ICC meeting being held on 10-11 October.

Nagendar Sharma: What is the present status of India’s tour toPakistan? Foreign Minister Natwar Singh is in Pakistan now, and Pakistan Boardwould be discussing this tour...

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : BCCI has already finalised the tour, and thereis no doubt whatsoever that January would see the best of Cricket in the region.Both governments have provided all possible support for Cricket and we hope thiswould continue. Indian cricket team’s tour to Pakistan is definitely on.

BBC listener from Bihar : Cricket is popular in India due to supportfrom crores of fans in the country. Still BCCI says players play for the Boardand not India, therefore no audit of accounts is allowed, and there is notransparency in Board’s functioning. When the game is there because of fanfollowing, why is the Board against the control of the government? And what wewitness are dressing room fights and tussle for control of the Board in thecourts now. What else is left for Cricket lovers to see?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra: Let me assure you and the countrymen thatinterest of Cricket is uppermost for the BCCI. Regular audits of the Board’saccounts are done and displayed as welll. What you are saying regarding the teamplaying for BCCI, well, that was said in a particular context, during litigationin the court. I admit that during the past one or two years, the Board has faceda number of cases in the courts regarding elections and other related things. Iwill only say that former Board Presidents, who have run the Board, know fullywell that today also the Board is being run in the same manner as was done whenthey were in control. I agree that the public of the country is confused due toregular litigation, but for this, more than anyone else, it is the frustratedindividuals spreading canards who are responsible. I assure the countrymen thatthe Board is being fully run in a transparent manner and I appeal to the publicnot to pay heed to misinformation campaign of frustrated individuals.

Some former Presidents of the Board, out of frustration, are making unwantedstatements, which are not helping anyone. They want the issue to remain alivethrough the media and otherwise, but we are working in a fully transparentmanner.

BBC listener from Jaipur : Sir, why is the Board afraid in tryingfresh talented youngsters, when our present team has badly out of form players,leading the country to regular losses?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : We have been regularly trying fresh talent --look at Venugopal and Suresh Raina very recently. If you go a little back, lookat youngsters like Dhoni, Yadav, and, a little further back, look at MohammadKaif and Yuvraj Singh. I have told the selection committee in very clear termsthat youngsters performing well should not be ignored at all. More upcomingyoungsters would replace those not performing well in the national team.We haveto keep in mind that at the moment the Indian team is passing through a badphase and in such a time all of us should be patient with the team and provideconfidence to the players.

Nagendar Sharma: But, Mr Mahendra, despite having being beaten on fasttracks, Indian Cricket establishment wants spinning tracks for all the homeseries. The 2007 World Cup is to be played in West Indies, and, despite knowingthis fully well, India still prefers spinning tracks. Indian players want toplay on slow tracks in India, and there have been reports that the Indianskipper refused to play on a fast rack in Nagpur when Australia toured India inOctober last year...

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : Never has the Indian Board or any of ourcaptains instructed the wicket and ground committees to prepare slow tracks forhome series. We are fully aware of the fact that our team would have to play ongood fast tracks in West Indies, and, keeping this in mind, the wicket andground committees have been asked to prepare accordingly, and our experts arealso working in the direction of preparing the team for such tracks. Let me alsoput the record straight, no Indian player had refused to play in Nagpur becauseit was a fast track, seamers from both sides performed well on that track and agood game was played.

BBC listener from Chattisgarh : At a time when all the major countriesare busy in planning for 2007, we are trying to fool ourselves by looking atpast mirror images. The recent ICC nominations should have opened our eyes,where Dinesh Kartik is the sole Indian nominee. Why do the star names mattermore than their performance for us? Why is it that in India the impact ofpersonalities is more important than performance? Can you say today that thepresent Greg-Sourav controversy has come to an end finally and we canconcentrate on the game now?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : Well, it is a fact that personalities have animpact, but so far as the Indian Board is concerned, the personality is not thesole criterion, the performance is also seriously taken into account. So far asI can see, the controversy has ended, issues have been amicably resolved and nowwe have set our eyes on the future goals -- that is the 2007 World Cup. I feelthat unnecessary attention is now being given to the Greg-Sourav issue, and sofar as the Board is concerned, we have moved on.

Nagendar Sharma: But, Mr Mahendra,, who is giving unnecessaryattention? The e-mail was leaked either by the Board or the coach, nobody else.What happened between the coach and the captain in Zimbabwe also came out whenthey chose to speak in the media, so why blame anyone else for the problems,which arose from within? What is the guarantee these won’t be repeated?

Ranbir Singh Mahendra : You are right -- had the e-mail not beenleaked, such a situation would not have arisen, and the same is correct for thedevelopments which took place in Zimbabwe. As you are aware, the Board isprobing the e-mail leak. At the same time we have taken corrective measures toensure that such things do not happen in the future. Many players have also saidand they feel that whatever happened in the dressing room should not have comeout in the open. Form here, all of us have realised that we need to avoid suchsituations, and work for the betterment of the game and its fans.