Few Indian captains have taken on the cricket board like Kohli, and that too before an important tour.
There is a folktale about a shepherd boy who delivered a judgment that was both fair and wise. A simple boy, he was inspired to sit on a mound to do justice. This made the villagers eager enough to dig up the mound in search of magic – and they found it. It was the burial throne of a wise and just king Vikramaditya.
He was so powerful that whoever sat nearby became like a king himself.
I have always thought of it as a wonderful metaphor for one of the most powerful thrones in India – that of the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Except that the throne of Vikramaditya elevated one, the board did the opposite.
When Sourav Ganguly sat on that throne, there was a lot of celebration. There was a cricketer here, a former captain who is now in charge. He had watched the game from both sides and once said that as captain he had the second toughest job in the country after the prime minister. And yet, here we are again. same old same old. Transparency and accountability remain out the window; Anyone who thinks that things have changed needs to think again.
The cricket playing public in India has been presented with an issue on which they do not want to be decided. Either their board president is lying or their captain. The former says that he talked to the latter about white-ball captaincy, with the latter saying he did not. Only one of them can be correct. Indian captains generally have the support of the Board President. Think of MS Dhoni and Srinivasan. Or before that Ganguly and Jagmohan Dalmiya himself. Now a matter that is easily resolved by chat has been allowed to snowball.
Virat Kohli says that he was given only 90 minutes notice to be sacked from ODI captaincy. But this is 90 minutes more than the time allotted to many former captains. The low point came in 1979, when the team returning from a tour of England was told in flight by the pilot that Sunil Gavaskar had been made captain in place of Srinivasa Venkataraghavan!
But just because it was so in the past—unscrupulous, disrespectful, dignified—is no reason to continue that tradition. Especially with a cricketer who is now leading the administration. The issue is not about the removal of Kohli, but of missing the opportunity to treat the Indian captain with dignity and respect.
Prior to this, board behavior was often down to the fact that politicians rule, and they were not expected to understand a cricketer or actually handle him skillfully. So either Ganguly is reading from the wrong playbook or the politician in the mix – the secretary, who is the home minister’s son – is calling the shots. Neither explanation is good for the game.
Few Indian captains have taken on the cricket board like Kohli, and that too before an important tour. As captains grow up, they start thinking about their legacy. And South Africa’s maiden series win after victories in Australia and England would mean that Kohli’s place in the captaincy god is sure.
Now he has put more pressure on himself to be successful both as a batsman and as a captain. Another traditional feature of the board is its vengeance. Kohli has prepared himself for another dismissal. Officers have long memories of small things, real and imaginary. For the time being, Ganguly has decided that while respectful silence is the best response to Kohli’s allegation, it is an uncomfortable silence. One knows from past experience that a plan is being worked out, and any excuse to cut Kohli further down in size can be used after South Africa.
Not long ago, a draw was considered the equivalent of a win for Indian cricket as the alternative was usually defeat. Time has changed. Today a draw is considered a defeat as India are expected to win everything. Captain Kohli has played a major role in this psychological turnaround. Yet he could pay the price for his own positive record (39 wins against 16 losses, and a success percentage surpassed only by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting). It has raised hopes.
It’s important to get that first series win out of the way in South Africa. It breaks down a mental barrier. India had not won a series in Australia till 2018-19 and have now won two in a row.
Cricket will push politics into the background once the first ball is bowled at Centurion on Sunday to signal the start of the series. Kohli’s hand will be strong if India wins the series; If they don’t, the BCCI will be incentivized to take a decision. It seems that something has to be given.
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