Cricket, as they call it, is a gentleman's game. The socio-political praxis of the sport has always been its impact to change society as a whole. However, the origin of cricket was founded on elitist traditions and contexts. With time, things changed for good; but it still remains as a game for the upper class to relish and control. The lower class has been involved but they have to remain mute participants in most of the cases; unlike a sport such as football, which has been the game of the proletariats and a platform for the lower class to voice their survival. There have been legends, of course, who changed the history and legacy of the game with their own hands- the likes of great people like Sir Don Bradman who made a firm stand against South African Apartheid and refused to play with the all-white team, which made him a hero of not just the masses but also of their leaders like Nelson Mandela.
The late 20th and the 21st century witnessed the rise of the sport into the hearts of the common people increasing its influence and popularity all over the world- especially the South Asian countries. The game involved more players making their way from the lowest stratus of the society onto the field but the power and the revenue was still in the hands of the corporations and investors. The polished upper class dictated the game-the hub of which stands in modern India.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)- an ironical emphasis on the word “control”- is one of the most fascinating economic entities of India post-liberalisation that has continued to be recession-proof till date. Although it is registered as a non-profit society and run by a board of elected members, it has monopoly rights over not just most of cricket in India, but also the whole world making it the biggest source of revenue in the game.
We have seen an unexpected surge of politics associated with the game; the most recent of which came after the Motera stadium was renamed as the Narendra Modi stadium with Jay Shah at the helm of the BCCI as the secretary. The stadium, originally named as the Gujarat stadium, was renamed as the Sardar Patel stadium as a tribute to the legendary freedom fighter. The Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi was also renamed to Arun Jaitley stadium after the demise of the latter. However this time it is entirely different. To rename it again after the current PM of the country during his tenure after its six-year long renovation might just be a narcissistic gift to himself or a spectacle to India’s current political situation.
In recent times, with the amplification of Twitter’s chirping, the government has been very effective in pushing their agenda with cricketers as their catalyst. Single tweets by global personalities like Rihanna and Greta Thunberg who expressed their concerns about the on-going farmers protest in the country and extended their support, rattled the government. In tweets aimed to 'educate Indians against propaganda', it was ironic how so many tweets from the sports community were exactly the same, the most of which came from the amicable cricketing fraternity.
For a country with over one billion people, picking an idol like Virat Kohli, (who also happens to be among the 100 most influential people in the world according to the TIME magazine) is a cunning political move. For a country which idolizes Sachin Tendulkar as God, it is not a small thing. These are just two names among the lot who tweeted, eventually influencing so many people in the country and making them believe in whatever the government wants them to.
The BCCI is just a proxy of the government. Apart from Sourav Ganguly, the entire cast including the likes of Jay Shah or the minister Anurag Thakur’s brother, is nowhere linked to the cricketing world. The disintegration of the clean-up reforms tried to bring on by the Lodha committee diminished. Even though the board is said to be a democratically elected body it seems that all the positions are negotiated by the sons, brothers and other people related to the government. Sourav Ganguly has always backed Jay Shah as the secretary of the BCCI urging people to judge the latter independently on his merit and not as the Union Home Minister’s son. There is always room for any political stance for an individual and that applies to cricketers too. The situation is alarming because there is little or no room for dissent. Dissent can come from any individual but it is not only ignored but battered brutally. When Ganguly’s daughter, Sana, quoted an excerpt from Khushwant Singh’s novel The End of India during the Citizenship Amendment Act controversy, she was attacked misogynistically; with people trolling her and going to the extent of giving her rape threats. It eventually led Ganguly to make a statement requesting everyone to keep his daughter out of the controversy and even state that “she is too young to know anything about politics.” The fear and compulsion to support the government, inculcated in them is problematic and frightening.
If we take a deeper look into the roots of the role of politics in the BCCI, we can see how long this has been thriving for. It was actually nursed by the late Indira Gandhi, the then PM of the country; after India won the 1983 World Cup, to introduce her own man at the helm of the board. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee who was then the Defence Minister, was appointed as the BCCI chief. However Mr. Mukherjee had no love for the game and suggested the name of NKP Salve who became the first politician to head the BCCI. The expansion of television and internet since then has only seen the rise and influence of this game and with that its exploitation in politics.
What will the future of cricket in India be? We can see more players join politics, most of whom are driven by money or recognition. Players are afraid to put out their political views when it goes out as dissent against the government. Manoj Tiwary remained unavailable for the Bengal team selection after he tweeted against the government. Later he joined the AITMC (All India Trinamool Congress) party ahead of the Bengal elections. Domestic legend Ashok Dinda also joined BJP. Political jingoism has started to impact the sport to a great extent in recent times. The speculation of how the future of Indian cricket will be, continues. For a country obsessed with cricket, there is always hope for it to survive and not let politics take over. The fate of the game, however, continues to remain in the uncontrollable hands of the BCCI.
(Cover image courtesy: The Indian Express)
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