Javed M Ansari & Nihal Koshie
Like the Indian team in Durban, the BCCI continued to face chin music on Friday. The cricketing debacle threatened to snowball into a political controversy with the CPI(M) demanding Sourav Ganguly’s recall, while the BJP’s Arun Jaitley and Congress MP Rajiv Shukla batted for the embattled cricketers and Board.
Rattled by the outcry, the BCCI chief Sharad Pawar sought to limit the damage by asking the chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar to fly to South Africa. But his vice president, Shashank Manohar, took off on a tangent , demanding a pay-by-performance rule to make players accountable and forcing the BCCI to clarify that his statement did not reflect the views of the Board.
Arun Jaitley took the side of the BCCI chief and the cricketers: “MPs and businessmen have no reason to interfere with the way the Indian team plays cricket.” He defended Pawar saying, “He does not have to bat, it’s the players who have to do it.”
Jaitley’s retort was also directed at the CPI(M)’s Brinda Karat, who demanded Ganguly’s recall. “People who are not knowledgeable about matters relating to cricket should not speak on it, especially when the boys are struggling abroad,” he said.
Pawar urged angry fans to go easy on the team. “It is true that their performance was not up to the mark and there is tremendous scope to improve, but one should not forget that it is the same team, the same captain and the same coach which gave extremely good results in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies,” he said.
Pawar said Vengsarkar was being sent as he felt the chairman of selectors would be the “most well-placed to assess the situation”. His primary role will be to boost the team’s morale. “There is so much criticism emerging from within India following the defeat — in the media and Parliament — that the players may need more confidence. The loss has been blown out of proportion,” Pawar said.
Vengsarkar, however, is likely to leave only next week. “There is a National Selection Committee meeting on November 30 to select the Test team for the South Africa.
Once that is over, if the BCCI clears me, I will be going to South Africa,” Vengsarkar told DNA.
Incidentally, no selector had accompanied the team in the last few games due to a clause that renders a selector powerless unless he is also designated as team manager.
However, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah confirmed that the Board would have no problem in sending Vengsarkar to South Africa. “Vengsarkar can leave as soon as he wants. I will finalise the date once I speak to him. Of course, he will not have a say in team composition or the playing XI when on tour,” Shah said.
