William Pitt the Elder once remarked: “Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.” This quote comes to mind when one thinks of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The BCCI has never won any awards for corporate governance and probably never will, but there is no denying the fact that it rules the cricketing world. It has a balance-sheet and cash-flow statement that would be the envy of many a corporate house. This power is what has, in turn, enabled it to call the shots and virtually redraw the rules of the game. However, it appears to have got everything wrong with the Indian Premier League (IPL)— right from the beginning.

Starting trouble

With the start of the seventh edition of the IPL less than two weeks away, the Supreme Court’s indictments have cast a cloud over the event. BCCI bosses, top players and teams are once again under the scanner. The fours and sixes will fly at UAE, but let us not pretend it will be business as usual.

The case dates back to June 2013 when the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) raised the charge of conflict of interest in the formation of the BCCI’s two-member inquiry panel looking into the IPL corruption issue.

The Bombay High Court later ruled that the probe panel was illegal. The BCCI and the CAB filed petitions in the Supreme Court against this order, with the CAB contending that the Bombay High Court could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the allegations of corruption.

In October 2013, the Supreme Court appointed a three-member committee to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against the son-in-law of the man in the corner office at the BCCI and India Cements (owners of Chennai Super Kings), as well as the Rajasthan Royals team owner, the Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd. There was also the larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot-fixing in IPL matches and the involvement of players.

The committee submitted its findings to the court on February 10. Based on the report, the Court suggested replacing the board’s chief with former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar or some other seasoned or respected cricketer (did the apex court have Ravi Shastri in mind?). The suspension of CSK and RR was also on the cards, but they have been allowed to play in UAE.

The court also proposed that employees of India Cements be kept out of the BCCI set-up.

Desi thrills and spills

Though global in design, the IPL has actually ended up as a quintessential desi event much on the lines of a typical Bollywood movie with its share of thrills and spills. Thus, we have its original promoter (chairman and commissioner, as he was called) now fighting Twitter battles over charges of financial misdemeanour; two teams that have bitten the dust; a Union Minister who had to resign after allegations were made that his wife had been offered ‘sweat equity’ in an IPL team for questionable reasons; a foreign player charged with rape; an Indian matinee idol banned from entering Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium after getting into a brawl with a security guard trying to do his duty; and players arrested during the tournament last year on charges of spot-fixing.

It is clear that the BCCI is unable to run the IPL on non-controversial lines — he mega-bucks involved are just too massive to ignore. What the tournament has done consistently is to ensure that there is at least one controversy a year, and this has impaired the image of the game.

Before there is further and permanent damage, the BCCI should act. It should sell the IPL brand to the International Cricket Council (ICC) who can then conduct the tournament at neutral venues.

The BCCI can ask for a huge price which the ICC may not be able to cough up on a single day; but this would only be a cash-flow and valuation issue and should not be an impediment.

Moving the league to a neutral venue would ensure that the IPL is an equal opportunity employer — the Umar Akmals and Shahid Afridis of the cricketing world will also be able to play. The BCCI should sell the IPL now as a going concern before it becomes a gone concern.

This may seem a radical move and will likely disappoint Indian fans who throng the stadiums to watch matches. It is time to ask them: “Will you still come to the stadiums if you know the result of the match has been fixed for a price?”

The writer is a chartered accountant

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