BCCI is up and running!

Some of the BCCI's recent moves sound suspiciously like they are part of the undoing of the Dalmiya legacy. I hope they are more than just that, and are well thought out long term policy decisions. As long term as they could be, given the BCCI's constitution. Securing the mega endorsement deals with Sahara Airlines and Nike is obviously beneficial to the team and the board (and by implication, the larger interests of the game in country, at least in theory), but the game in India hardly suffers from a lack of moolah. There are several things that need fixing - the selection fiascos could be a good area to start with, although, going by the way Mr.Pawar has kicked off, it will be more of the same we have seen in the past. So much for change. The real news is what the BCCI has been doing with the ICC mandated schedule. Or threatening to do, which is to make it totally irrelevant. On the face of it, there's logic behind some of what BCCI wants to do. Like not having the team tour overseas during the Oct-Mar months, which is basically the whole season in India. In a recent post, I made the case for a cricket calendar with fixtures that become the basis for a tradition a la the Boxing Day test. But I'm somewhat skeptical of the motives of the board when they are ready to tour Australia during the said period (agreed that our seasons more or less coinicide). It seems as if the whole rescheduling is an exercise in re-evaluating the revenue stream. I'm sure the board doesn't mind the team touring Pakistan either during the sacred months. All in all, I'm not comfortable with the way the BCCI is seeking to achieve what it says it wants to. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the ICC and BCCI sit down together to try and hammer out a compromise. No prizes for guessing who would be dictating terms there. - NK PS: I loved the logic of the unnamed board official who was articulating the real reasons for the cancellation of the NZ tour before the World Cup.