Institutions
have great power in moving mountains of work which individuals fail in. So
some individuals use this institutional power to move and achieve what they
want to.
If
the intent is good the impact is powerful. Recently one of the powerful sports
body appointed its President. Cricket Body in India selected Mr. Anurag Thakur
as its new president. Credentials of Mr. Thakur was mentioned on the Times of
India Newspaper (23rd May 2016 , page 18 - Please visit the end of this article for screen shot - Know Thakur), one aspect is worth
mentioning below:
The
interesting part is the first one “Played one first-class match for Himachal
Pradesh as Captain against Jammu and Kashmir in the 2000/2001 season”.
It
is surprising that Mr. Thakur was more talented than the likes of Tendulkar,
Kohli, Ganguly, Dravid etc.. Since all these players could not become captain of the state team when they played their first first-class match. Any cricket player knows it is impossible as you have to climb up the ladder.
The
political background of Mr. Thakur, is impeccable and unquestionable. Every
atom is made of Politics.
Now
to back up the above statement an interesting article appeared in DNA newspaper
titled “The curious case of Anurag Thakur, the Cricketer by Chandra Shekhar
Luthra on 4th March 2016. I will reproduce sections of the article
here which is very interesting to read :
“Well,
there is no dispute over whether Thakur has played cricket at certain level or
not. But to actually club him alongside Indian greats can put BCCI in the dock
over how the game of cricket is being run by some selfish administrators for
their own greed.
Thakur's
story is a curious one...
It
was soon after becoming president of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association
(HPCA) in June 2000 that he found ways to climb up in the BCCI ladder.
He
was only 25 at that time, the youngest to become president of any state cricket
association in the country. To be eligible for a post in BCCI's junior
selection committee, a plump post in itself, he needed to have been a Ranji
Trophy player.
So,
one fine day in the month of November, Thakur just walked into the dressing
room of Himachal Ranji team and announced himself captain for this match
against Jammu & Kashmir.
As
it would have happened to any other administrator in India, Thakur got a 'big
zero' as batsman but managed to get two late-order wickets.
Cricket
in Himachal was hit for a six by the son of state's chief minister Prem Kumar
Dhumal. But it didn't matter to BCCI or for that matter to Thakur. It was
important for this young upcoming lover of the game to get into the BCCI junior
selection panel. The BCCI's rules allow only first-class cricketers to be made
national selectors.
With
Ranji Trophy certificate under his belt, Thakur went on to become the Indian
junior selector in subsequent years and now BCCI has put him alongside some of
the Indian cricket greats who are serving the game for the love of it.”
For
rest of the article , please read the
link below provided as references. The article is worth reading.
The
point is things do not change at the highest level of power of any institution. We
have to remind ourselves:
“We
all learn in school that the judicial, legislative and executive branches of
government must check and balance each other. But other non state institutions
must participate in this important system of checks and balances as well. These
checking institutions include the academy, the media, religious institutions
and NGOs.” - Alan Dershowitz
We
all knew that cricket body in India has been used by politicians to control and
exercise their supremacy. I believe today is the culmination of that control
and I am sure that it will not stop here but reach to greater heights in future. This reflects
the state of sports bodies in India.
The seed for future destruction is sown today.
Pray
for sports.
References:
Source for below screen shot: Times Of India (23rd May 2016):
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